It has been a long 15 years since Pixar Animation Studios released the original film, but the wait is over. Woody, Buzz and the gang are back, recruiting new characters along the way. Unlike the previous films, in Toy Story 3, Andy Davis (voiced by Jim Morris) is 17, a mere three days away from heading off to college.

The story revolves around fear of abandonment, whether kids moving off to college or their parents saying goodbye. Andy decides to take Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) with him to college, while the others are destined for a trash bag bound for the Davis' attic. However, a careless mistake by Andy's mom leaves Woody with the gang on a road trip to Sunnyside, a day-care center, as donated toys.

They meet Lotso, (voiced by Ned Beatty) who welcomes them with open arms. Lotso, a large stuffed bear who smells like strawberries, happens to be in charge at Sunnyside and takes the gang into their new toy family. To the toys, Sunnyside seems like a great place where toys are played with every day and once the children outgrow the toys, a new group arrives in a never-ending cycle. Buzz (voiced by Tim Allen), Jessie (voiced by Joan Cusack) and the other toys that were not chosen to stay with Andy are relieved and happy to be played with after all these years. Upon seeing how great Sunnyside is, the gang wants Woody to stay, but reluctantly, he separates from the gang to find Andy.

As Woody heads back, he takes a detour and ends up at the home of a little girl named Bonnie (voiced by Emily Hahn). There, the toys reveal the truth about Sunnyside and Woody returns to stage a "prison break."

Toy Story 3 is Pixar's first IMAX movie, also in 3-D. Those two details provide clarity of color and design making the movie look "real". The plot, characters, verbal wit and visual imagery all work to evoke forgotten childhood memories, reminding us of what it's like to be a kid again.